Great summary! I’m helping some other people to pick a Solar PV system and your series of up-to-date assessments is great! I manufactured solar panels back in the late 1970’s. Doping silicon wafers in a vacuum created created Solar to electricity efficiency around 4-6 % was “fun”. Getting 22% efficiency is fantastic! 😊

What’s the difference between the REC Pure R 420 and REC Alpha Pure 405AA? Is there one you would recommend? Or a REC panel you would pair with a enphase iq8 inverter (best production)

What do you guys think about SunPower Maxeon® Gen 5 450W w Tigo TS4-A-F rapid shutdown module. Still a newbie in this whole thing. Would I still need a microinventer like enphase?

Just got my Maxeon panels installed with IQ8A microinverters 11.48KW system. 410 all blacks. Looks super sleek! Super happy with my purchase and install!

@SolarSurge

Жыл бұрын

Nice!

@F85M

8 ай бұрын

Did you get Maxeon Gen 5 or 6?

@mattjohnson5768

8 ай бұрын

@@F85M max3

I made so much munny, installing solar panels, that I retired early, and I am now thinking about importing a new wife. “It’s a miracle”. (Nyuk nyuk nyuk.)

This analysis doesn’t reflect my experience. I got quoted for for 20 Maxeon panels (without SunPower) and 20 REC panels the same models as this video. The Maxeon’s were only $200 more total (or $10/panel). Not much of a price difference at all. Also the REC’s have to be paired with old IQ7’s. I didn’t believe my installer at first but verified on REC spec. The Maxeon panels, if you go direct and not as part of SunPower Equinox system, can be paired with the better enphase IQ8A microinverters. The Maxeons are actually more flexible for pairing. For nearly same cost, I went with the better Maxeon panels.

@BobPritchard

Жыл бұрын

I've got a quote now from an established company with the pure panels and an SE optimizer.

@vinnie97

Жыл бұрын

They (SunPower) didn't offer me anything directly, and instead told me to try my luck with installers.

Very informative, thank you. It’s my understanding that REC also makes panels under the Panasonic name. I’m I correct? Thank you.

@samuelpierog135

Жыл бұрын

Panasonic pulled their panels from North America but have been contracting REC to manufacture panels with Panasonic stickers. I think they are just using that to preserve market share while they switch gears to a new panel line (just a guess).

What about the Solarwatt Meyer Burger Glass and Viessmann ? These are the best solar panels in the industry.

I agree with you that the REC Alpha Pure R is a better panel. And it’s mainly because I don’t believe Maxeon’s warranty performance. Sunpower has always over claimed on their warranty performance and I’ve gone back to Sunpower jobs in the past where the system is 15 years old and has snail trails and delamination on the panels. So, in my opinion, yes Maxeon probably has powerful panels initially but I tend not to believe a 40 year warranty claim. The one downside for REC Pure R that you didn’t mention however was the difficulty REC makes in the location of their junction boxes on the solar panel and the lengths of the wires coming out of those junction boxes, which unfortunately makes wire management extremely difficult and laborious for the installer. This has unfortunately been an issue with REC panels for a long time unless an installer was to make jumpers for each and every single solar panel.

@SolarSurge

Жыл бұрын

Hi Nolan. Good feedback. I think REC does this to allow for both portrait and landscape orientation mounting.

@hadicafe

Жыл бұрын

Excuse me, what is the best company in the world? for solar panels And also what is the strength of one board I want to connect electricity to the electricity company in return for reducing the bill value But I don't have experience Excuse me, what is the best solar panel company for 2023? What is the capacity of one board? And what tools should be purchased with the boards Thank you very much

@hadicafe

Жыл бұрын

@@SolarSurge Excuse me, what is the best company in the world? for solar panels And also what is the strength of one board I want to connect electricity to the electricity company in return for reducing the bill value But I don't have experience Excuse me, what is the best solar panel company for 2023? What is the capacity of one board? And what tools should be purchased with the boards Thank you very much

Many comments here question compatibility with Enphase IQ8A. If you have a Hybrid Inverter (i.e. Sol Ark 15K), can't we just bring DC down to the inverter? what is the benefit of having microinverters by the panels in this installation ?

@SolarSurge

Жыл бұрын

Sol-Ark is find with either of these panels. The issue is that some micro-inverters cannot handle the higher voltage from a single REC 420W+ solar panel.

@davidgeorge375

Жыл бұрын

@@SolarSurge Thank you for the response

What is that hot beat at the end?

JJN 100 watt panels cost less than $70 and output over 100 watts. I get 104 watts. They call the 9bb cuz they have 9 sections instead of 6. This gives 20% better output.

I have a startup idea on solar

Does the alpha r have different ratings than the regular alpha pure black?

@MrDontcareify

Жыл бұрын

Yes it does

How many times you need to tell what you are going to do?

Does Sunpower make a biface panels??!

Maxeon is the best . They are building a 1 Billion Dollar factory in New Mexico United States spring 2024 . Big subsidies coming soon and big sales for Maxeon.

Keep in mind standard PV panels have a maximum efficiency theoretical limit of 30% (shockley queisser)

@samuelpierog135

Жыл бұрын

Only if we assume current materials. Could always come out with new technology and metal chemistry to surpass this.

@apsdev

Жыл бұрын

@@samuelpierog135 Yeahr .. there are ways to make 40% efficient panels. But they use triple junctions with 3 layers of 3 different materials i think. ANd each layer absorbs a different color of light. They are extremely expensive. So they are used on satellites where you used to pay a lot of money per gram launched. Or on those solar cars that race in australia. But 20% is pretty amazing .. improving a little on that is probably expensive. So might be cheaper to have a couple of panels more, instead of having more efficient panels. Unless you run out of roof surface, or are on a boat a (glider) plane or antartica .. something like that. I guess there are even people experimenting with water cooled panels, so the panels are more efficient generating electrickery. And you have warm water you can use to heat things. But it's not very cost efficient. and the water isnt very warm.

What is the ideal temperature for a solar panel to operate?

@SolarSurge

Жыл бұрын

25 degrees C / 77 degrees F

@benoitbourdaire4194

Жыл бұрын

​@@SolarSurgewhat happens if it's colder?

@samuelpierog135

Жыл бұрын

Virtually nothing as long as they are not covered in snow.

@jdlutz1965

Жыл бұрын

​@@benoitbourdaire4194 they produce even higher than rated in cold temperature.

@Winnetou17

10 ай бұрын

@@jdlutz1965 Then that's not the ideal temperature WTF

Hi Joe: Neither of my potential installers in Central Florida say the REC Pure Alphas are not available yet. Is this true?

@SolarSurge

Жыл бұрын

We have them.

@P51

Жыл бұрын

@@SolarSurge i'll set up a quote, thanks

@USA-GreedyMenOfNoIntegrity

11 ай бұрын

Distributors haven’t ran out of old stock yet. Ours up in Columbus doesn’t stock them either.

REC Pure R doesn’t work with Enphase IQ8 inverters. VOC is too high. Only compatible with IQ7X manufactured for previous Sunpower modules.

@samuelpierog135

Жыл бұрын

These were actually made more for Panasonics 96-cell architecture. Sunpower was running IQ7HS for the past few years. Rumor has it that Enphase is going to offer IQ8X for this panel

doesn't address the product warranty at all, just the performance aspect, that's a huge difference between the 2 products. Maxeon has a full 40 year product warranty vs. 12 year product warranty for the REC.

Which is better for weather? hail, wind etc?

@peterkenny5671

Жыл бұрын

Check the data sheet here yourself. REC Alpha Pure R comes ahead in all three categories with front test load (e.g. snow) of +7000 Pa and rear load (wind) of -4000 Pa, versus Maxeon SPR-MAX3-XXX-BLK-Rrating of front +5400 Pa and wind load of -2400 Pa. Against hailstones, the REC Alpha Pure R has a rating up to 35 mm hailstone protection vs Maxeon 25 mm hailstone. I live in an area that can get windy, so this was a major factor in my purchase of the REC Alpha Pure R.

@nathanielblack4353

Жыл бұрын

@@peterkenny5671 If you take into account the 1.5 factor of safety, the REC may be less resilient to non-hail loads than the Maxeon. The difference is that the REC datasheet lists the maximum Test Load, whereas the Maxeon datasheet lists the maximum Design Load. Design Load = Test Load / 1.5 (safety factor). At least this was the case with the REC and the Maxeon that I've been comparing (Australia): - REC Alpha Pure Series - SunPower Maxeon 5 AC

@peterkenny5671

Жыл бұрын

@@nathanielblack4353 First of all, compare with what is in the video, the latest REC model, the Alpha Pure R. Second, refer to the the real professional standard tests such as IEC 61215 and especially, note that the Maxeon 3 405-420 data sheets that I can find online do refer to *tested* values of 1 inch/25 mm hail resistance, while REC Alpha Pure R refers to *tested* values of 35 mm hail resistance. My only connection with REC is as a recent customer who tried to research this as thoroughly as reasonably possible.

VSUN is the best

@SolarSurge

Жыл бұрын

Are you kidding?

I hear Panasonic panels are made by REC

Like all the YT videos on this subject, they all want you to buy the most costly, because that is better? Right? How do I get a cheap solar cell they keep saying they invented?

@USA-GreedyMenOfNoIntegrity

11 ай бұрын

Stop filling your garage and sheds for junk, stop buying $50-$80,000 pick up trucks. Invest in solar. Most of the money goes to greedy corrupt corporate executives in the USA so they can buy their new tax deductible corporate aircraft to fly around on vacations with their family and sidechicks. The rest of the money goes to communist China. Keep buying they all love your money and are continuing to build a military to take us over one day.

Reading and comparing datasheet is Not a Review

Neither is ideally compatible with microinverters.

@SolarSurge

Жыл бұрын

The Enphase IQ8A would be a good choice to pair with either of these panels.

@ToddDesiato

Жыл бұрын

@@SolarSurge Not possible. The MAX Vdc input to an IQ8 is 60Vdc. The Voc for the REC panel will be over 60V in cold weather, and the Voc for the Sunpower is nearly 90V. You can't use them with Enphase, period!

@joeordia8696

Жыл бұрын

@@ToddDesiato Good catch. You are correct. The REC VOC of 59.4V could easily be pushed over the Enphase limit of 60V in extreme cold temps. I'll be interested to see what Enphase says about compatibility.

@damon808

Жыл бұрын

VOC for Maxeon Max3 420 is only 41V. Works great with IQ8A or IQ8H.

@N0bull

Жыл бұрын

@@SolarSurge Joe what are your thoughts? These are valid claims that contradicts your statement.

Comparing them without actual testing is moot point.... Do a real world testing instead... This video tells us nothing.

Got to disagree, we are about to have Maxeon panels and Solaredge optimisers and inverter and battery!!

@SolarSurge

Жыл бұрын

What part of my analysis do you disagree with?

@samuelpierog135

Жыл бұрын

That you can't pair maxeon with other system components. You can pair them with any other (compatible) options now that they broke away from the sunpower contract.

@Rustyrea75

Жыл бұрын

From what I understand from the Greentech Renewables webinar earlier this year, with speakers from Maxeon: Darren Hoffman (Maxeon Sales and Technical Director), Spencer Killette (Maxeon Director of Sales), & Zach Campeau (Maxeon Director of Product Management) is that Maxeon will be manufacturing both the Max 3 & Max 6. The Max 3 for themselves to be sold à la carte, and they will be manufacturing the Max 6 exclusively for Sunpower to be involved in their all encompassing whole home soup to nuts “solution”. The Max 3 and Max 6 share the same tech, however, the Max 6 have larger overall dimensions.

@benzientara6236

Жыл бұрын

@@samuelpierog135 Yes, Maxeon 3 modules are now available to all U.S. installers through Greentech Renewables. SunPower still offers Maxeon 6 modules but is also using whitelabeled modules from other companies (Waaree and Aptos among others) in its U-Series line.

@paulanderson6903

Жыл бұрын

@@samuelpierog135 yes exactly that, we have Maxeon 3's and Solaredge inverter and battery now and we are VERY happy with it. Didnt have it when i saw this video but its all up n running a dream now.

None of them have hjt technology : so no the best for 2023.

@SolarSurge

Жыл бұрын

REC uses HJT.

@albertdupont4351

Жыл бұрын

@@SolarSurge under licence : they don’t own ! Just another vendor !

@vinnie97

Жыл бұрын

​@@albertdupont4351yet they're using the technology, you're moving the goal posts.

Hände weg von Meyer Burger. Die sind das schlimmste was ich in 35 Jahre montiert habe.